O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-53—sSB 952
Energy and Technology Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING EN ERGY STORAGE
SUMMARY: This act establishes deployment goals, program requirements, and
procurement authority for energy storage.
Beginning by January 1, 2023, the act requires the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection (DEEP) to report annually to the Energy and
Technology Committee on its quantifiable progress towards meeting the
following energy storage deployment goals established by the act:
1. 300 megawatts (MW) by December 31, 2024;
2. 650 MW by December 31, 2027; and
3. 1,000 MW by December 31, 2030.
The act requires the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), by January
1, 2022, to (1) initiate a proceeding to develop and implement one or more
programs and associated funding mechanisms for electric energy storage
resources connected to the electric distribution system and (2) report to the
Energy and Technology Committee on the proceeding’s status. The act
establishes program objectives and allows PURA to select a third party to
implement the program.
The act allows DEEP to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for energy storage
projects connected at the transmission or distribution level to achieve the act’s
goals when combined with PURA’s programs. The act requires the DEEP
commissioner to select proposals if she determines that procuring energy storage
is cost effective. It establishes factors she must consider when making selections
and subjects any agreements to PURA’s review. Under the act, the electric
distribution companies (EDCs, i.e., Eversource and United Illuminating) recover
agreement costs from, and credit revenues to, electric ratepayers.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021, except the DEEP reporting requirement on
energy storage deployment goals is effective upon passage.
§ 2 — PURA PROCEEDING AND PROGRAMS
The act requires PURA to initiate a proceeding to develop and implement one
or more programs and associated funding mechanisms for electric energy storage
resources connected to the electric distribution system. In its proceeding, PURA
must establish:
1. at least one program for residential electric customers,
2. at least one program for commercial and industrial electric customers, and
3. a program for energy storage systems connected to the distribution system
in front of the meter and not located at a customer’s premises.
The act requires PURA to solicit input on developing these programs from O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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DEEP, the Connecticut Green Bank, the EDCs, and the Office of Consumer
Counsel (OCC).
Under the act, PURA must consider one or more programs and rate designs to
encourage deployment of electric energy storage technologies connected to the
distribution system that most effectively leverage the technology’s value to
achieve the following objectives:
1. provide positive net present value to all ratepayers, or a subset of
ratepayers paying for the benefits that accrue to it;
2. provide multiple types of benefits to the electric grid (e.g., resilience,
ancillary services, leveling out peaks in electricity use, or supporting
deployment of other distributed resources);
3. foster sustained, orderly development of a state-based electric energy
storage industry; and
4. maximize the value from the participation of energy storage systems in
capacity markets.
PURA must also consider programs and rate designs to encourage uses of
electric energy storage technologies connected to the electric distribution system
that avoid or defer investment in traditional electric distribution system capacity
upgrades.
The act requires PURA to consider all energy storage configurations that are
connected to the distribution system, including those connected in front of the
meter and not located at a customer’s premises.
The act allows PURA to select any combination of the Green Bank, DEEP,
the EDCs, or another third party it deems appropriate to implement one or more
electric energy storage programs.
§ 3 — DEEP SOLICITATION AND PROCUREMENT
Project Selection
The act allows DEEP, in consultation with the state’s procurement manager
and the OCC, to issue RFPs for energy storage projects connected at the
transmission or distribution level that would, when combined with programs
PURA establishes, achieve the act’s energy storage goals. Projects may include
stand-alone energy storage projects or projects paired with (1) Class I renewable
energy sources (e.g., wind and solar) or (2) hydropower facilities with a
nameplate capacity of up to 100 MW.
The act requires the DEEP commissioner, as part of her determination on
whether procuring energy storage is cost effective, to publish and make available
for public comment a cost effectiveness test that considers each applicable benefit
provided by energy storage. If the commissioner determines that procuring energy
storage is cost effective, the act requires her to begin selecting proposals.
The DEEP commissioner must consider at least the following when selecting
proposals:
1. whether the proposal is in ratepayers’ best interest, including the sources’
delivered price; O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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2. whether the proposal promotes electric distribution system reliability,
including during winter peak demand;
3. any positive impacts on the state’s economic development, as determined
in consultation with the Department of Economic and Community
Development commissioner;
4. whether the proposal is consistent with the state’s greenhouse gas
reduction requirements under the Global Warming Solutions Act; and
5. whether the proposal is consistent with the state’s Comprehensive Energy
Strategy and Integrated Resources Plan.
PURA Review and Cost Recovery
Under the act, any agreement entered into (presumably, by EDCs) as a result
of DEEP’s selection is subject to PURA’s review and approval. The act requires
PURA to (1) finish reviewing an agreement within 120 days after it was filed with
PURA and (2) approve an agreement if it is cost effective and in electric
ratepayers’ best interest.
Under the act, EDCs must recover an approved agreement’s net costs through
a fully reconciling rate component on electric ratepayer bills. Costs include those
incurred by the EDCs under the agreement and reasonable costs associated with
the agreement. The act also requires EDCs to credit customers through the same
fully reconciling rate component for any net revenues from selling products
purchased under long-term contracts entered into under the act. The act does not
specify lengths or quantities for contract terms.